Preview: Bangladesh vs West Indies, 19th Match

The terms "dangerous", "dark horses", "unpredictable" etc can be used to describe both West Indies and Bangladesh quite aptly. Their performances so far in the tournament have mirrored each other's quite a bit. Both teams have lost a match against a pre-tournament favourite and both have registered a win over one of the lesser fancied teams.

While the team performances have been similar, the performances of their respective captains could not be more contrasting. Shakib, for Bangladesh, has been an inspirational leader for the young team and is an important cog in both batting and bowling while Darren Sammy, an all-rounder himself has been rather conspicuous by his absence and one gets the feeling that his role in the team is not clearly defined. With the fight for a quarterfinal berth getting increasingly tougher with Ireland emerging as new contenders, both teams will strive for a win before going on to face tougher challenges.

Bangladesh:

Bangladesh came into the tournament after a morale boosting whitewash of the Kiwis at home. This had led many to believe that they would be posing a stiff threat to India in the tournament opener but it was not to be as they were walloped by 87 runs.

The next game against Ireland proved to be tighter than what they would have liked but they showed immense spirit in defending a modest total in front of a boisterous home crowd. The home support has been rather overwhelming and could play on the minds of the players once the expectations begin to rise.

Shakib and his team have responded pretty well so far and come Friday they would be looking to bring more joy to their passionate fans. Tamim Iqbal has once again shouldered the batting responsibility and will be looking for more support from the likes of Shakib and Ashraful.

The pace bowling seemed to lack some teeth but Shafiul Islam did come into his own with the old ball, under the lights and he will look to build on the confidence gained. Spin, the strength of Bangladesh will definitely play a pivotal part on the slow and low tracks at Bangladesh and with Razzak heading this department, it looks to be in pretty safe hands.

West Indies:

The loss of the talisman Dwayne Bravo was a huge blow for West Indies given the dual role he could play so effectively in the limited overs game. They did not seem to miss him too much against Netherlands though as Kemar Roach hit full throttle to blast the Dutch away. The batting, barring Darren Bravo, came a cropper against South Africa but it was a much improved performance against Netherlands with the mercurial Gayle leading the way. Pollard showed exactly how destructive he can be but it will be a totally different game against the wily Bangladeshi spinners and it will definitely be interesting to see how he responds to this challenge. It is here that Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan could play an important part, in the middle overs against the spinners. Both of them are perfectly capable of playing the waiting game and both can switch gears when required.

On the bowling front, WI have adopted an interesting strategy of opening with the gangly Benn and it has worked out pretty well for them. Benn was miserly against the Dutch stifling them for runs and picking up wickets when they went after him. The Bangladeshis should have plans for him and would take him lightly at their own peril.

Head to head:

Interestingly Bangladesh have never won a match at home against West Indies, they have played five and lost four with one match ending with no result but Bangladesh has got the better of West Indies on the last three occasions they met. In World Cups, they have met twice, with the 2003 match being called off due to rain and WI winning comprehensively in 2007.

Face off: Tamim Iqbal vs Kemar Roach

An aggressive opener facing up to an equally sharp and quick paceman is an exciting prospect and one such battle awaits us in the game between Bang and WI. Tamim Iqbal facing Kemar Roach will definitely send some sparks flying and we could be in for a cracker of a contest if the two decide to attack each other in the initial stages.

Quotes:

Abdur Razzak: It did not happen(spin) in the first two matches, but I think this one will help us. It will give us a good chance to beat the West Indies.

Kemar Roach: My target is to win every single match and lift the World Cup. I am very confident we can do it. We are playing positive cricket and the guys are improving every day.